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National Book Foundation > Author > Susan Sontag
After teaching philosophy and theology in her twenties, Susan Sontag decided to devote herself full time to writing. At age 30, she published her first book, an experimental novel called The Benefactor (1963). Her short story, “The Way We Live Now,” was published in The New Yorker in 1986 and was very well received. She later achieved popular success as a best-selling novelist with The Volcano Lover (1992), and at age 67, published her final novel, In America (2000). Ms. Sontag died in New York City on December 28, 2004. More about this author >
In America is a kaleidoscopic portrait of America on the cusp of modernity. As she did in her enormously popular novel The Volcano Lover, Susan Sontag casts a story located in the past in a fresh, provocative light to create a fictional world full of contemporary resonance. More about this book >
After teaching philosophy and theology in her twenties, Susan Sontag decided to devote herself full time to writing. At age 30, she published her first book, an experimental novel called The Benefactor (1963). Her short story, “The Way We Live Now,” was published in The New Yorker in 1986 and was very well received. She later achieved popular success as a best-selling novelist with The Volcano Lover (1992), and at age 67, published her final novel, In America (2000). Ms. Sontag died in New York City on December 28, 2004.